Not one player left the program. No wholesale changes were made to schemes. No assistants jumped from a well-regarded staff. The notoriously fractured fan base appears to be galvanized. And despite offseason turmoil, the Razorbacks, with a favorable schedule that includes Southeastern Conference heavyweights Alabama and LSU at home, think they are poised to achieve what running back Knile Davis said was this season's only goal: a national championship.

"All or nothing," Davis said.

Sitting at his office desk in mid-August, Smith was asked whether he would have returned to Arkansas for a short-term deal had the Razorbacks not been national title contenders. He paused before saying, "I have a lot of love for these guys. Everybody wants to be needed. Maybe I look at it like, 'Doggone it, maybe they needed me.' "